Bet on the NFL This week we had the first Tuesday Night football game in 64 years, and although a huge disappointment for the Eagles, it was a huge success for NBC.
24 million NFL fans watched as the Minnesota Vikings upset the Philadelphia Eagles.It was the biggest audience that any network has received on a Tuesday night this season.The game should have aired on Sunday night, but an epic Nor’ Easter, or rather a New England snowstorm caused the delay.Was it such an NBC success because the nation is craving more ball?Or was it the timing- a Week 16 matchup with two of the most popular teams in the NFL, during a week when many people are on vacation, relaxing for the Holidays.Also adding to this great timing was the fact that there was almost nothing else to watch on the tube.Unless you’re a big fan of the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony.But none the less, the NFL is pushing for an 18 game schedule, and this may cause Tuesday night games to become a regular occurrence, new TV packages, new TV dollars.That is dollars for the networks, dollars from the fans.

The players are hesitant in general when it comes to an 18 game schedule, it would be extremely trying on their health.

But perhaps instead of a new Tuesday night schedule we might see an expanded Thursday night schedule. Sportsbook has the odds as for bringing a new night into the mix, the NFL wants to show the dominance of its product, and one way to do that is to be on as many nights as possible. Saturday seems obvious, but there is a conflict with college football, even though it's likely both could survive on that day.There is a downside, though. By adding games and expanding to another night, the league risks over-saturating the market with games and diluting its strength. It's always better to have more demand than supply.

The union countered the 18-game proposal in November, outlining its demands, which included a reduction in the number of voluntary offseason workout weeks, the amount of contact and the number of full-pad practices in training camp. The union also would seek an additional bye week and expanded rosters in exchange for the extra games.